Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Prisoners’ RightsThink a used book is a subversive tool to dismantle the prison industrial complex? Maybe the Department of Corrections does. Or at least they are saying that a used book can contain contraband and that’s why a local bookstore is being denied the right to send books to Wisconsin inmates. The Wisconsin State Journal has this story which seems sympathetic to the DOC. The Cap Times offers this version of the issue.

*** update: if you'd like to hear more about this topic, tune in to WORT on Friday, August 8 at noon for A Public Affair as Diane Farsetta interviews volunteers from Wisconsin Books To Prisoners and Paul Wright, editor of Prison Legal News. Go to http://www.wort-fm.org to stream it live or to catch the archive later.

Reproductive RightsUnder the guise of protecting medical professionals from job discrimination, Bush wants to create a new rule that would define birth control as abortion. Congressional approval isn't required to put the rule into effect, but around 100 legislators have signed onto a letter of protest against this sexist denial of patients' rights. It isn’t a surprise that this effort delights anti-abortion figureheads in the state. The leg affairs director quoted in the article is the same guy who thinks that condoms are immoral too. Be sure to watch the McCain clip. Ask yourself, who’s out of touch on this issue?